No. 1 Poultry, Stirling & Wilford
Architects; Stirling & Wilford.
The following abstract taken from an article by Hugh Pearman in Times of 14th April 1991 (would help to clarify some historical references).
"The fact that the site is the quintessence of London was, of course, also a major plank of the conservation case against his scheme. Why should a fine group of listed buildings have to go at all? But Stirling's contribution, unique though it is, is positively reticent compared with Palumbo's previous dream for the site, a steel and glass tower dominating a new plaza, designed in 1967 by the modernist guru Ludwig Mies van der Rohe shortly before his death, and finally vetoed in 1985 after a public inquiry. Palumbo promptly appointed Stirling and abandoned the tower/plaza idea completely.
But Stirling has not forgotten it. He flicks through photos of his neighbouring buildings, pointing out how the compositions of Lutyens at the 1924 Midland Bank, or Dance at the 1734 Mansion House, can be explained as a series of separately readable pieces - base, pediment, rooftop pavilions and so on - and that his own building will be composed of individual pieces to achieve the same effect of human scale. "All of which contrasts with this," he says, pulling out a photo of the Mies tower with its sheer, unbroken facade. "I supported it, and I still would. I would have liked to see a Mies building in the City, but it's only one aspect of modern architecture."
No. 1 Poultry, Stirling & Wilford
Architects; Stirling & Wilford.
The following abstract taken from an article by Hugh Pearman in Times of 14th April 1991 (would help to clarify some historical references).
"The fact that the site is the quintessence of London was, of course, also a major plank of the conservation case against his scheme. Why should a fine group of listed buildings have to go at all? But Stirling's contribution, unique though it is, is positively reticent compared with Palumbo's previous dream for the site, a steel and glass tower dominating a new plaza, designed in 1967 by the modernist guru Ludwig Mies van der Rohe shortly before his death, and finally vetoed in 1985 after a public inquiry. Palumbo promptly appointed Stirling and abandoned the tower/plaza idea completely.
But Stirling has not forgotten it. He flicks through photos of his neighbouring buildings, pointing out how the compositions of Lutyens at the 1924 Midland Bank, or Dance at the 1734 Mansion House, can be explained as a series of separately readable pieces - base, pediment, rooftop pavilions and so on - and that his own building will be composed of individual pieces to achieve the same effect of human scale. "All of which contrasts with this," he says, pulling out a photo of the Mies tower with its sheer, unbroken facade. "I supported it, and I still would. I would have liked to see a Mies building in the City, but it's only one aspect of modern architecture."